The Allstate Sugar Bowl sponsored the New Orleans city series of basketball games between Xavier University and Dillard University this year. It marked the third straight year that the bowl was involved with this historic local rivalry. Xavier swept the men's and women's games in the four games.

The historic rivalry between the two schools began on Jan. 17, 1948 when the men's basketball teams first clashed on the hardwood. This year's games raised the total number of all-time match-ups to 121, with Xavier now holding a 74-47 advantage. The schools first met in women's basketball action during the 1977-78 season. The Gold Nuggets and Lady Blue Devils have played 74 times with Xavier on top 55-19 in the all-time series.

Three players in the XU-DU men's series reached the NBA. Xavier's Donald "Slick" Watts played six seasons with three NBA teams from 1973-79. Watts was the first to lead the NBA in assists and steals in the same season (1975-76). Gold Rush teammate Bruce Seals played three NBA seasons (1975-78) after two seasons in the ABA. Dillard's George Johnson played 13 seasons with six NBA teams from 1972-86 and ranks 13th in the NBA with 2,082 career blocked shots. Johnson was a member of the Golden State Warriors' 1975 NBA championship team, and Seals played in the NBA Finals in 1978 with the Seattle SuperSonics.